Inventory of Synagogue Objects (Fustāt, Egypt)

On Thursday the 18th of Iyar in the year 1386 according to the Era of Documents [1075], we came before the court and took an oath from Ephraim ibn Bashād—who is in the Palestinian synagogue, and who has accepted upon himself in court to be in the synagogue night and day together with his boys and to take care of all of its matters, small and great…

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This official document, written in Judeo-Arabic, records Ephraim ibn Bashād’s commitment to watch over the Palestinian synagogue in Fustāt (Old Cairo). Ephraim was to receive a small stipend for his job, including payment of the jizya (annual poll tax, a tax on non-Muslims mandated by Islamic law). The document entrusts the holdings of the synagogue to him as well, perhaps in order to provide a record should any problems arise. The ellipsis indicates a lacuna in the manuscript.

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